| Updated: 12/13/2004 |
Film, Radio and TV - 10
Film, Radio and TV - 10 |
International
Even though U.S. films account for about 90 percent of worldwide film revenues, the United States only produces about 15 percent of the world's films. Each year, India produces more than twice as many films as the U.S. However, India's film budgets average far less, and films are churned out much more rapidly--sometimes within a few days. Probably the record time for a recent U.S. movie was Wag the Dog, done a few years ago. Despite having some major stars, this film was produced on a relatively small budget and reportedly finished principal photography within 30 days. Normally, U.S. films take over a year to produce. At least one U.S. film took more than five years to complete.
Hollywood has learned a great deal from foreign (non-U.S.) films. This started at the earliest possible moment, when in 1903, Edwin Porter, borrowed ideas for the first U.S. dramatic film, The Great Train Robbery, from French film pioneer Georges Méliès. A number of counties have introduced Hollywood (and limited U.S. audiences) to alternative genres and styles in filmmaking. These include:
Because of the language barrier and the reluctance of U.S. audiences to read English subtitles, most foreign films don't do well in the United States.
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But, there have been about a dozen major exceptions. The most notable recent exception has been Italian director Roberto Benigni's La Vita E Bella (Life is Beautiful), which won the 1999 Academy Award for best foreign film, and won Benigini an Oscar for best actor. (A scene from this haunting film is shown on the right.) In 1993, Jane Campion won an Oscar nomination for best director, and an Academy Award for best screenplay for The Piano. The foreign films that have done best in the United States (in rank order) are:
Whereas Hollywood is reluctant to tackle new filmic concepts--preferring to stick to economically "safe" themes--foreign film producers, like U.S. independent film producers, often push the envelope of innovation. Some of these new ideas catch on with U.S. audiences, some don't. Hollywood, like the U.S. television industry, tends to focus on entertainment. Foreign films are often more subtle and artistic in nature. Even so, most hit U.S. films do well in foreign distribution. In fact, some do better in other countries than they do in the United States. Often, the versions of U.S. films that are exported are more sexually explicit than the version shown within the United States. This is because many countries are more accepting of sexual themes. At the same time, some countries are less tolerant of U.S. film violence.
Almost every country is, to some degree, apprehensive of the values than can be communicated through films. Consequently, many countries limit the number of "foreign" (generally this means U.S.) films that can be imported and shown. Particularly bothersome to some governments are films that depict their country in a negative way, question their political system, show highly materialistic values, are "immoral," or espouse freedoms that are not available in their country. As a result, many countries produce large numbers of their own films--often only after the scripts have been approved by their government agencies. Of course, many countries limit U.S. films primarily for economic reasons. They want their own film studios--if they have them--to stay viable in the face of formidable U.S. competition. |
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